Small circular DNA of Drosophila melanogaster: chromosomal homology and kinetic complexity

Nucleic acid reassociation techniques were used to determine the kinetic complexity of small circular DNA in cultured cells of Drosophila melanogaster. Two kinetic components are present. One of these constitutes 82% of the mass of the circular DNA and has a complexity of 1.8 $\times $ 10$^{4}$ nucl...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences - PNAS 1979-12, Vol.76 (12), p.6142-6146
Main Authors: Stanfield, Sharon W., Lengyel, Judith A.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Animals
Base Sequence
Cell lines
Cell Nucleus - analysis
Chromosomes - physiology
Circles
Circular DNA
DNA
DNA, Circular - genetics
Drosophila
Drosophila melanogaster - genetics
Kinetics
Mitochondrial DNA
Molecular Weight
Molecules
Nucleic Acid Denaturation
Nucleic Acid Renaturation
Phosphates
Sodium
Temperature
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Summary:Nucleic acid reassociation techniques were used to determine the kinetic complexity of small circular DNA in cultured cells of Drosophila melanogaster. Two kinetic components are present. One of these constitutes 82% of the mass of the circular DNA and has a complexity of 1.8 $\times $ 10$^{4}$ nucleotide pairs; the other constitutes 18% of the mass and has a significantly higher but undefined sequence complexity. We have demonstrated that these circular molecules hybridize to middle repetitive chromosomal sequences by hybridization of in vitro-labeled circular DNA tracer with a vast excess of Drosophila chromosomal DNA. Thermal stability measurements indicate that base-pair mismatch between small circular DNA and middle repetitive chromosomal DNA does not exceed 2%. We discuss possible functions of these small circular DNAs in light of the above findings.
ISSN:0027-8424
1091-6490
DOI:10.1073/pnas.76.12.6142